Rejected and Betrayed
by Spoiler1001
Summary: Reaper and Zero have a new threat to deal with: an enime tbat can and will reopen wounds. Sequel to Rebirth and Renew
1. Chapter 1

Reaper and Zero were working together for a while now, going on two years now. They were talking with X, who was training new recruits.

"We miss you X." Reaper said with a wistful smile. Zero nodded.

"I can't. I almost went maverick." X said looking away from them.

"You didn't. You wouldn't. " Reaper said pulling his face to look at her. "You just got upset. That's all."

"Still, I won't risk it. I'm gonna finish up training the new recruits here and then I will try to strategize new ways to make peace." X said and returned to the recruits.

"Ever the philanthropist." Zero said. Reaper smiled sadly.

"He scared that he'll lose control. He knows that he'll be near unstoppable." Reaper said, lost in thought.

"Perceptive." He said with an impressed smile.

"I'm good at reading people." She smiled back.

 _Not too long ago the opposite side of the newly rebuilt city, a lone reploid was awaiting orders. He had Auburn hair and dulled green eyes. His youthful appearance clashing with his occupation. His guns at his side and his scars well hidden. It was a simple in and out job. A white light flashed and he was physically a nameless worker. Walking towards the door, he hesitated. He pushed aside all doubts and continued forward._

Zero and Reaper were called to deal with a disturbance on the newly rebuilt highway. A metaloid was trashing the road and destroying cars.

"I have a feeling that this will be a long night." Reaper said as she saw first hand the size of it. "But not as long as the reploid that thing is chasing." She said as she noticed a figure running away from it.

"How can you tell that It's a reploid?" Zero asked from next to her.

"look how fast it's running." She said and pointed to the figure.

"You could probably run that fast." Zero said smirking.

"You're so sweet, but thankfully I'm one of a kind." She smiled back flirtatiously. She leaped down her ledge and ran towards the threat, with Zero on her tail.

 _The assassin was walking out of the building and had tears running down his face. He had enough. With a yell he ripped off his earpiece and crushed it in his hands, but not before uttering a last final message to his superiors._

" _I quit."_

Reaper and Zero caught up with the metaloid and the figure. The figure was a reploid with the physical appearance of a teenager. He looked fatigued and his Auburn hair was knotted and his helmet was off kilter.

"Hey kid!" Zero shouted causing the reploid the stop in his tracks. Reaper approached him.

"You look like you've had a rough night." She said her voice soft and sympathetic. The reploid opened his mouth to reply, but metalic roar cut him off. He looked up at the metaloid and sprinted away. Both hunters looked at the maverick metaloid.

"Do you want to deal with this or should I?" Reaper asked, her tone light. Zero raised an eyebrow at her.

"Get the kid. I got this." Zero said. She nodded and gave chase to the reploid.

She let her skin turn metallic and her eyes glowed neon green. The reploids eyes widened when he saw her. She caught him with ease. Grabbing him, Reaper stopped him in his tracks.

"Who are you and What happened?" Reaper asked with a raised eyebrow. Her eyes boring into him.

"My names Axl. As for what happenrd, I was an assassin and for red alert-" The reploid now named Axl started but was cut off by Zero.

"The mercenary group?" Zero asked.

"Yeah! But I left." Axl said looking at Zero.

"Couldn't stomach the Job?" She asked understandingly.

"It's not that. It that Red Alert has a code that we follow, but most of the others have broken the code and I couldn't take it anymore." Axl said, close to tears.

"I'm guessing that giant metaloid was sent by Red Alert to grab him." Reaper muttered.

"Meaning that more of them will come." Zero muttered frustrated.

"Or they'll do worse. We need X." Reaper sighed.


	2. Chapter 2

Zero and Axl were sitting on the plane. Reaper was sitting across from them, Axl's guns on her person. She was looking out the window, Lost in thought.

"I'm not gonna run." Axl said through gritted teeth. He lifted his hands which were cuffed. "So please, take these off."

"Sorry. It's policy." Reaper smiled softly. "They'll probably come off when X decides what to do with you."

"That sucks!" Axl groaned. She chuckled. Zero looked at her and smiled.

"Well, how about we kill some time. What happened between you and Red Alert?" Zero asked. Reaper looked at Axl.

"They used me." Axl whispered.

"So you ran. I can relate." She said with sympathy. Zero looked at her with an unreadable expression.

"Yeah." Axl nodded. Reaper was about to say something when the announcement from the pilot signaled that they have landed.

"Let's take you to the leaders." Reaper said. They walked towards the door where X and Signas were.

As predicted X and Signas didn't like Axl. Let that be rephrased. They didn't like that he was an assassin.

"You worked for them. Why should we trust you." X said frustrated. Zero looked like he wanted to step in. Reaper stopped him.

"We don't have to trust him immediately. But he did walk away. I say we let him prove himself." She said. X looked at her and sighed.

"Fine, but He's your responsibility." X said after a while. Reaper smiled and uncured Axl, still not giving him back his guns. Zero pulled Reaper outside the room.

"Why are you so convinced that He's trustworthy?" Zero asked mere inches away from her. She smiled and ignored the increase in her heart beat, but still blushed a little bit.

"He has potential. It would be better for everyone of he just has a chance." She said her voice even. Zero looked at her face

"If he tries anything-" Zero said. Her eyes had gained a dark gleam.

"If he tries anything I'll deal with him." She finished for him. She stood on her toes to be eye level with him. "I can take care of myself."

"Let's- Let's just join them." Zero said blushing. She chuckled and kissed his cheek.

The two of the walked into the room. Axl had the facial expression of an abandoned puppy. He looked at Reaper. So did X.

"I hope you know what you're doing." X sighed.

"I always do." She smiled and X fought to not smile back.

Suddenly the big screens in the room began to fritz out. A deep male voice rang through the room.

"Hello Hunters. I believe you have something of mine." The voice said. "My name is Red. I want Axl back."

"What makes you think I'm gonna give him to you?" Reaper said smoothly.

"Because you wouldn't want a reenactment of the massacre that you've buried so deeply in your past." Red replied smoothly. Zero, Axl, and X looked at her. She was glaring at the forming image of a reploid with ghastly wight skin and black and red trimming on his armor. He had a working eye but the other one had a large crack through it, rendering it useless.

"I don't know what you're talking about, dear." She said her voice tense. "But I wouldn't threaten people like that. It would be a shame if you lost the other eye."

Red let out a crackle. "You have three days." With that the video feed cut out.

"We need a plan of attack." Reaper said, not looking at anybody.

"Massacre…?" Axl muttered, vocalizing the other two reploids thoughts.

"Long story. One I will tell you, all of you when this is over." She said. She brought up a map of the city and was looking for possible places where a huge gang of assassins would be hiding. X walked towards her. "If I wanted to talk about it I would have." She snapped. "And right now I want to deal with this."

"Fine but we will talk about this. Axl! Show us on this map where the base is located." X said, acknowledging the young reploid. His head shot up and he pointed to an old part of town.

"I know the area." Reaper said. "Zero Axl and l can deal with them, and be home before midnight." She smiled, but it was forced. She half ran with Zero and Axl following close behind her.

"Then we will have a talk about this 'Massacre.'" X shouted after her.

"looking forward to it." She grumbled under her breath.


	3. Chapter 3

On the remains of the highway, Axl Zero and Reaper were zooming towards the Red Alert HQ. Reaper was zooming ahead of them.

"I can tell you're upset." Zero said. She shot him a brief look. "But you're going one hundred twenty five miles per hour. She looked at her speedometer and slowed down to where Axl and Zero. She was squeezing the handlebars so tightly, that tells bars were becoming dented. She had tears in her her eyes.

"No." She said as Zero pond his mouth again. "I'm not talking about it." Axl looked dead ahead, away from the drama.

"Guys. we're here." Axl said loud enough for them to hear him.

 _Veronica was obviously younger here. Her hair was a dark brown with bright white streaks. Her hair was long and her bangs were long enough to cover her brown with speckles of green. She had freckles over the bridge of her nose and her cheeks. She was wielding a scythe and was watching a door. She heard banging and the door burst open. A flash of blonde hair was running towards her._

"Reaper, Zero I have a confession to make." Axl whispered. "the reason they want me back, is that I…" He sighed and a flash of white light flared up. When the light died, new reploid took is place. "I can replicate the physical appearance of other reploids."

"That's a useful skill to have." Reaper said with wide eyes. Zero had a similar expression of shock and nodded. Axl changed back.

"They wanted my powers and when I refused they tried to persuade me and and with the Professor…" Axl continued but was cut off.

"The professor…?" Zero asked.

"Yeah! He deals with all the upgrades that the Red Alert people get. However, when you get an upgrade, you start to go crazy. At one point some of my closest friends pointed a gun at me and demanded I give up my copy chip right then and there. That was a week ago and I jumped ship as soon as I could."

"What you're describing sounds like Mavericks to me." Zero said narrowing his eyes.

"You do realise what this means, right?" Reaper asked.

"If they are mavericks I want to do that myself." Axl said with a monotone voice.

"That's fair." Reaper said with her voice tight. Zero picked up on this. He lead the trio down a hallway. The silence was deafening. Reaper unconsciously turned on her metaloid skin. It glowed softly. She became lost in thought.

 _The blonde streak morphed into a long ponytail. She swung her scythe hard the figure dodged easily. Suddenly the figure was standing over her. She saw crazed eyes and an equally insane grin. She flinched harshly and shut her eyes when he out reached his hand towards her. She gingerly opened her eyes when he gently brushed her hair out of her face. She watched him twitch and wasn't braced for the backhand that knocked a few teeth loose, but she managed to stand up and picked up her scythe and took a good swing at him. It struck his back and scraped the armor off._

"Axl...Are you ready to do what needs to be done?" Reaper asked softly. Axl nodded. "Good."

 _Her earpiece rang again._

" _Everyone's out. Come on." The voice on the other end said. He had a slight posh accent._

" _Kind of busy here!" She yelled in response. A flicker of confusion washed or her opponent's face. Then he decided that he didn't care and ran to attack her his blue eyes glazed over. She swung her scythe again, but it didn't matter. A shot rang out. The figure stumbled and turned around. The source of the shot was a tall male with a scar going down his face. The figure went to attack the male, but Veronica grabbed him by the hair and yanked. The figure fell and she ran to the male. He grabbed her hand and was dragging her to the Exit._

" _You left every one outside alone? What if there is another maverick? They'll be slaughtered!" She said as he led her outside. There was blood everywhere outside. Body's were mutilated beyond belief._

" _Oh god...Did Where did the maverick that did this." She whispered._

" _I'm disappointed in you, Veronica. You of all people should know…" He picked up a sword and activated it. Locking the door he stabbed her through the stomach. "Anybody can do anything and evil is not just limited to reploids." She gasped and let out a few tears._

" _Burn in hell you son of a bitch." She whispered. He sighed and deactivated the sword, leaving her bleeding and alone with his other victims._

The trio in the hallways stopped when they heard the tell tale sound of a safety turning off.

"I do believe you are here to return Axl." The commander from the video said Smoothly.


	4. Chapter 4

Reaper drew her scythe. Zero did the same with his sword, and Axl with his guns.

"Actually we came to talk you down." She said smoothly.

The commander raised an eyebrow at this.

"Oh? Has that strategy worked before?" he asked sneering. "Just give us back Axl and nothing bad will happen."

"He ran on his own free will. Besides, it's not like he didn't have good reason to run." She smiled bitterly. The commander took a swing at her. Zero and Axl watched as the hand dented beyond repair when it struck her metalloid skin. She didn't even flinch. Kicking him a few feet back she let a grunt with effort.

"I think you pissed him off." Zero said as he pulled her out of the way of a bullet. She hit the wall knocking some hair into her face. He gingerly placed it behind her ear.

"I pissed a lot of people off." She replied smoothly. He chuckled softly. She noticed Axl running towards them.

"He's gone maverick." Axl said, on the verge of tears. "He's not normally like this I swear."

"I know." Reaper said quietly. "I know. Are you sure you you want to do this? I can take care of this for you." She said looking at Axl. He shook his head.

"I can do it." Axl said. Reaper nodded. Zero watched as Axl began firing precise shots at his former leader. As the shots rang out Reaper held an unreadable expression. She let her skin turn normal, but still unnaturally pale in the light of the hall. Her green eyes were darker. Soon the commander collapsed and Axl walked up to him. The commander looked at Reaper and she instinctively took a step back.

His expression was one of crazed excitement and euphoria. Hers was one of absolute terror.

"Before I shut off I must ask you? Can you feel the dread flowing down your spine? Can you feel the foreboding sense that something will go very wrong very soon?" He let out a laugh. "You may have changed your name and built yourself up, but you're still a scared little girl." He laughed again, this time, the voice box was fritzing out of control. "But I suggest you go. You may have time to escape."

"Escape what?" Zero said. A loud explosion shook the room.

"I'm guessing that." Reaper said, light tone forced. The three of them ran towards the exit. Reaper turned metal and pulled them faster. They escaped with a wall of flame behind him.

 _Veronica was slashing at little metal things, that sent out shock waves when they hit, with her scythe. She had sweat and tears down her eyes, but she couldn't tell which was which anymore. After a few hours of this, she got hit in the back. The resulting shock brought her to her knees. When she was laying on the ground helpless the metal things hit her all over. She screamed and her skin turned metal. Soon the shocks stopped and a figure stood in front of her._

Back at the HQ X was looking Axl.

"You show promise kid." X said. "I might help train you." X smiled.

Zero and Reaper were watching X talk to Axl. Reaper looked exhausted, but physically she was fine. She looked young but the age beyond her eyes were one of an elder who has seen many kinds of conflict many times over. However she still had a kindness that wouldn't leave her body. She felt a rock settle in her stomach when X and Zero looked at her. She shook her head and looked towards the door. The message was clear: not here.

She lead them towards the door. Signas was talking to Axl. She stopped in the hallway outside the door and turned towards Zero and X.

"I know you want to know about the massacre that he was talking about." She said looking at their faces. "I just want you to know that some things are better left in the dark."

"We just have one question: who did it?" Zero asked.

She looked at him with an unreadable expression. "If I tell you, I don't want to talk about it again."

"That's understandable." X said.

She let out a breath. "At the time he was my partner. I loved him and he took advantage of me fighting a maverick. The son of a bitch's code name was 'Dragon'."

"He spared you?" Zero asked but had a bad feeling in his stomach.

"No." She shook her head. She pulled up her shirt and exposed a scar on her stomach. "But I was lucky." Zero and X looked at the scar with pale skin from the shock. Zero snapped her eyes up at her face. Her face was a mask of calm. "That is my big secret." X flinched at her tone of voice.

"That explains your defending of Axl." X muttered. "He can join the rest of the rookies and train with them."

"It's a start."Reaper smiled.

 _Veronica was on a strapping table with needles poking at her skin trying to activate the defensive metal armor that her skin turned into. She was screaming for someone to help her, but no one came. A white reploid shushed her and pushed her whitening hair away from her sweaty forehead._

" _Just Activate your nanites, and this will be all over." The reploid said in a faux comforting smile. With a final scream her skin turned metalloid and she broke the bonds that kept her on the table. With substantial effort she stood up and ran towards the first door that she saw, which led to a hallway. Soon she began seeing double and her skin turned normal. She whimpered in pain and leaned on a wall. Soon she passed out._

A couple days after Axl started training with the other rookies, Zero was looking at the sunset with Reaper. Her hair was down and she looked at peace.

"Axl's a good kid." She said. Zero snapped his eyes towards her. The colors of the sunset was bouncing off her white hair. Her green eyes were bright in the colors. What saw really surprising was her smile. It was subtle, but sweet, a genuine moment of being almost happy. "He's gonna be a great hunter."

"Yes. He is."Zero said as he smiled back.

"I want to find the professor that pretty much screwed up his life." She said. Zero nodded.

"After we deal with the professor, we are going after this 'Dragon'." Zero said.

 _Veronica was slashing at the little metal projectiles. She never missed one. At one point she dropped her scythe and punched the projectiles. Her hand turned metal, making the projectile harmless to her. After all the projectiles were taken care of, the white reploid approached her._

" _Was that good enough for you, Isoc?" Veronica asked the reploid._


	5. Chapter 5

Reaper was training in the training room when X walked in.

"You've done great with Axl." She said and shut down the program she was training with.

"He's a great learner." X smiled. The smile faded away pretty quickly. "Zero tells me that you've been training here since Axl joined. Reaper smiled bitterly and shrugged. "Have you been sleeping?" X asked concerned.

"Yeah." She said. "I've been sleeping." She looked at X sigh in frustration. He took his helmet off and ran his fingers through his hair.

"The hell you have. You look exhausted. Nightmares?" X said. Reaper nodded. "You want to talk about it?" X asked gently.

"Yeah, but not here. Not in HQ." She whispered.

 _Veronica looked at Isoc. Her eyes turning greener by the day. Her hair was now the palest it's ever been. Only her roots gave a hint that her hair color was a different color. She was physically as old as she was when she when she joined the hunters, with no hint that she had stopped aging. Isoc on the other hand, looked like he was put together with duct tape. That flimsy shell was hiding some of the greatest genius in existence._

" _You've done well, Veronica, but your training isn't done we still have one thing left." Isoc said._

" _What the hell are you talking about?" Veronica snapped. A figure walked out of the shadow._

" _I believe he's talking about me, love." A familiar posh accent filled the air. Reaper flinched. "I'm so proud that you are a true warrior now." Dragon said as he walked towards her. Veronica back away subconsciously. Soon he stood over her. Brushing a stray tear off of her cheek, he kissed her forehead. She flinched and gasped. Her eyes turned dull purple and she fell to her knees._

" _What-what did you do to me, you sick bastard…" She gasped. Dragon pulled her chin towards him. He shushed and wiped more tears away._

" _I made you better. Soon you will not feel anything at all." Dragon brushed hair out of her face and blanched._

" _How the hell?"_

X and Reaper walked towards the newly rebuilt diner. X was in civilian clothing. His brown hair was spiking all over the place. The two sat in a booth.

"You are a great person, X. I wish more people were like you." Reaper said smiling sadly.

"Re-Veronica…" X said quietly. She looked at him, but couldn't meet his eyes. Wrapping her arms around herself, she sighed.

"X, you are more human than I ever was." Reaper mumbled. X watched her silently.

"...What makes you think that?" X said eventually. She sighed and looked at him directly. Her green eyes were fluctuated between forest green and neon green. "..oh. The nanites." X mumbled. Reaper noded. "Is that what's causing the nightmares?" He asked. She nodded.

"My ability to turn my skin into metal was a secondary adaptation from the nanites. The first was tissue reconstruction." She said, numbly. "The metal came from a protective reflex. The things don't want me to die, so I can't." She let out a bitter laugh.

"We shall see about that, love." A familiar voice said.

 _Veronica was laying on a cot, gasping and grunting in pain. Her hair was clinging to her. "I wish that things didn't work out that way. If you weren't so stubborn, you would be fine." Dragon muttered and opened her eyes to see. They were fluctuating lilac and neon green._

" _Well, if you got your head out of your ass, maybe I wouldn't be so damn stubborn." She grinned._

"What the hell are you doing here?" Reaper asked, seething.

"You could be nicer, love." The stranger said.

"I could also chop off my arm and eat it." She snapped.

"Is this your new beaux?" He sneered at X. X glared at him. Reaper glanced at X and grabbed his arm, pulling him down.

Not letting him go, Reaper looked at the offending stranger. "No, he's not. What are you doing here, Dragon?" She said in a flat voice.

Dragons laugh shook the diner. "I heard you are after a friend of mine." He said his accent thickening with anger.

"Oh and who would that be?" X asked seething.

"The professor…"


	6. Chapter 6

"You know the Professor?" X asked skeptically. Reaper's grip on his arm got stronger. X finally got to look at Dragon. He had jet black hair, but his roots were white. His hair was in a Ivy league cut. His smile was inviting, but cold. His eyes were lilac, with blue underneath. His teeth were blindingly white.

"Of course you do. Why are you here?" Reaper snapped.

"To give you a warning, love. Stay out of our way and maybe things will go better than last time." He whispered darkly.

"Burn in hell you son of a bitch." Reaper said with narrowed eyes.

"I'll see you there." He said and kissed her cheek.

Reaper and X watched him walk away.

 _Veronica stood in front of Dragon and Isoc. Her face held a calm that was hiding a fire. Her green eyes were completely neutral._

" _I guess your little plan went to hell…" She said with an angry smile. "And you completely turned me into something I wasn't." She said in a quiet tone._

" _That's not quite true, love. you still have your freckles…" Dragon cooed. "But I'm sure that you're more upset that you couldn't stop me from butchering those people." He crackled. Veronica flinched, but didn't avert her eyes._

" _I'm more upset that I trusted you." She said calmly. "and I'm going to tear your head off of your body." She said with a small smirk._

" _Oh Ronnie, love, you are too sweet to do such a thing." Dragon smirked and stepped closer to her. Veronica activated her scythe. The blade was firmly against Dragon's throat._

" _Do you think that I'm still too nice to do that?" Veronica snarled. She pressed her blade further into his throat, drawing blood._

" _Love...I think you're off your rocker." Dragon said, his accent thickening from the nerves._

" _Maybe I am, but so are you." She said as she pulled her blade away. "God knows why I'm doing this, but I just want to start over again. If I see either of you, you're dead."_

Back at HQ, Zero caught word of the little reunion. He wasn't happy. Fortunately he kept control of himself until Reaper and Zero were alone.

"Why didn't you bring me along with you?" He said when they were in her room. She was brushing her hair and sitting on her bed. Various pictures of sceneries were on her wall, along with a mounted rifle. Zero himself was leaning against her wall. He wasn't in his armor, but he was in a black battle suit. His hair was in it's usual ponytail. His dark blue eyes were looking at Reaper.

"I wanted to talk to X and I had no idea Dragon would talk to me." She said her green eyes looking straight at him. Her gaze held a fatigue that Zero couldn't begin to understand. "That bastard was smart. I wouldn't start a fight in the diner. Too many people in the way."

Zero nodded in understanding. "I still have to ask you one thing: would you kill him given the chance? Whatever your answer, I won't tell anyone your answer." He asked his voice lowering in volume.

"Honestly, I-I don't know. I want to. A-after all he did, I really want to, but I don't know what I'll do." Reaper whispered. Zero's gaze softened. Walking towards her, he placed his hand over her scar on her stomach.

"If you don't I will." Zero said as he kissed her forehead. Reaper nodded.

 _The maverick was banging on the door, finally exposing himself to the carnage that awaited him. His dark blue eyes widened at the sight. His crazed smile faltered and his crazed expression was sober for a couple minutes. He looked at the pile of bodies, sight falling on a familiar girl. Her brown hair with the streaks was turning red in her own blood. By all logic she should be dead, but she was looking at him, her brown eyes watching him, not looking through him as the rest of the bodies were. Hell, she was still blinking._

 _He gently picked her up and she whimpered in pain._

" _I guess the tin man does have a heart after all." She rasped. She squinted slightly at his chest and put her fingers on an engraving on his chest. "...Zero…" She smiled softly and passed out. Believing her to be dead, Zero laid her down and walked away, his crazed expression returned, becoming angrier. As he walked away, he never expected her pulse to still be going, or that she was still breathing._

Dragon was walking in a base towards his commander, his violet eyes were blazing, quite literally as they had spots the color of embers right after a fire ended.

"Isoc! I have located Veronica. As the rumors stated, she is with the maverick hunters." He said, looking at the white reploid.

"This could complicate things, but, if we play our cards right, she can come right back to us." Isoc growled.

Back at the maverick hunters HQ, Reaper and Axl were at a gun range, shooting rounds. Axl was a flawless shot, but Somehow Reaper was better. They were both using one of Axl's guns.

"You're a great shot." Reaper said smiling proudly. Axl beamed at her.

"So are you, but you use a scythe. How are you as good as you are?" Axl asked confused.

"I used to use guns, but now my job requires a quieter approach to things." She said. "Well, that and I've grown fond of the old thing." She smiled nostalgically.

"Also what kind of reaper doesn't use a scythe?" Zero said from across the room, smiling softly.


	7. Chapter 7

_Dragon was looking at a recent video. The video was Veronica purifying a maverick. The video was in black and white, but the shine of her skin when it turned metallic was clear._

" _She's always been a fighter…" He said to no one in particular._

In the maverick hunter's HQ, Zero, Reaper, X and Axl were comparing notes about who the Professor could be.

"He has to be smart enough to work with reploids, and know how to not get infected by the virus while infecting others." X said as the look over case files.

"That's assuming he isn't infected." Reaper said.

"And if Dragon knows him…" Zero said, eyes darkening.

"I know two people who would be that willing to take apart and put back together. The man who gave me the nanites...And… Isoc." She said and Zero shot up like a bullet.

"You knew Isoc?!" Zero asked semi yelling.

Reaper flinched slightly and turned to look at Zero. "Yeah, but it wasn't exactly...fun being in same building with him." She said.

"Meaning…?" X asked concerned.

"I wanted to claw out his eyes." She said bluntly. "But that's not the point. The point is that whoever it is, he is extremely dangerous." There was an uncomfortable silence following this.

"...We should check out those two first. It's the best lead we have." X said. "Axl and I will check out the scientist that gave you the nanites." X said decisively.

"Dr. Olympia. That's the doctor's name." Reaper said.

"Right. And You and Zero will track down the Isoc." X finished.

"Sounds as good of a plan as any." Zero said from his spot next to Reaper. "We'll keep in contact."

 _Veronica was young, not even thirteen yet, and she was dying. She had been too close to a maverick attack, but she had to help people get out. Her brown hair was short but covered in blood. Her brown eyes were glossed over. She was jerking all over, Coughing for air that will never get into her lungs, she was crying._

" _Poor little Veronica. Risks her life to save people she never even knew and look what she got in return. Lungs full of blood and an agonizing end." Dr Olympia sneered at her. Veronica wanted to say something, but all that came out was a cough and a whimper._

" _Shush...I can make this all go away…" He cooed and pulled out a syringe. Veronica's eyes widened in fear. The Doctor jerked her head to the side and stuck the needle in her neck._

Zero and Reaper made it to one of Isoc's HQ. Neither one of them moved for a second.

"What did Isoc do to you?" Zero asked gingerly.

"He did experiments on me to see if the nanites in my body were the reason I survived Dragon stabbing me in the heart." She said, looking around the entrance. Finally she found an old key. "He was right" She said after a while. "The nanites were the reason I survived."

"Good to know."He said flatly. She turned to face him.

"Hey, Zero, look at me." She said, seeing how he was looking away from her. He refused. She walked to him and placed her hand on his chin, pulling it towards her. "Look at me. I'm fine." She said softly.

He responded by kissing her. She stood on her toes to kiss back. It wasn't a declaration of love, no they knew where they stood with each other. It was reassurance from Reaper, 'I'm right here and I'm ok' as well as a promise from Zero, 'I'm not letting them go near you again'. Reaper pulled away first. Zero put

"Are we ok now?" She whispered. Zero nodded. "Good. We have a job to do." She smiled softly. He nodded and she kicked the door open.

"Why- You grabbed a key." He asked, surprised.

"That's not the key to the door." She smirked. Zero shook his head, Amused.

 _Veronica was writhing in pain. Her hair was streaking white and her eyes, if they were open, would show that they were speckled green. Eventually she calmed down. A figure of a male walked up to her._

" _It's over now, love. You made it." He quietly. He brushed hair out of her face._

 _He helped her stand. "I'm gonna get you out of here." his British accent obvious when he spoke._

" _Who are you?" Veronica muttered as he carried her out._

" _I'm Derek, but people call me dragon." Dragon said, his purple eyes shining._

Axl and X were walking towards the door when a loud bang reverberated through the building. The hunter and the trainee ran towards the source of the sound. They were not prepared for what they saw.

Dragon was standing over a mid-age doctor, his gun smoking.

"Well, this is interesting..." Dragon smirked. He shot the Doctor again, causing the man to scream in pain. "Do give Ronnie my love." He said and dropped a smoke bomb and vanished.


	8. Chapter 8

Axl and X rushed to the bloody doctor.

"Ungrateful brat!" The doctor grunted. "No better than his little girlfriend."

"Doctor…" X began. "You're injured.."

"No shit! Just give me a minute" The doctor said and stood up. He sighed and coughed, spitting out the bullets.

"How- ?" Axl asked, disgusted.

"Am I to assume that you have the nanites as well." X asked, professionally.

"Assume what you want. Why are you here? Is it about Veronica? Cause she ran as soon as she could." Doctor Olympia sneered. "She got what she deserved."

"How can you say that?" Axl snapped.

"She was trained by Isoc, no?" He smiled darkly. "A fitting fate for a street rat playing hero." He finished. Axl walked towards him dangerously while X pulled him back.

"That's not why we're here. What do you know about red alert?" X asked his voice venomous.

"I don't. I never cared about the group of mercenaries. I could never stand the company of reploids." He sneered his British accent feeding through.

"Do you think Isoc would?" X asked seething.

"Of course. He turned my own son against me." Dr Olympia said, showing a ghost of an emotion besides distaste.

"Your son? Was he the one who just shot you?" X asked.

"Yes. But now that I've answered your questions; get the hell out of my Lab." The doctor snapped.

 _Veronica was walking around the old houses, having discovered that people would tell her things, because of her beauty, of course there had to be a trade first. She hated the trade at first, realising that she was putting herself in unreasonable danger, but slowly realized that she didn't care._

 _One day a reploid in green armor was talking to her._

" _So, princess, have you ever been with a reploid before." He had a drunken smirk on his face._

" _Normally I don't talk about clients to other clients, but I can't say I have." She said flatly. "I assumed that reploids weren't that anatomically correct."_

" _I can prove you wrong, little girl…" He slurred._

" _Even if you could, can you afford me?" She asked, raising an eyebrow. He smirked and gave her a wad of money. She counted it silently. "...Yes, you can." She whispered. He grabbed her arm and the two of them walked towards a hotel._

Zero walked around the base behind of Reaper. Reaper had her hand on her weapon, ready to swing if an enemy jumped in front of her. Her green eyes were hard and focused, not a word passed between the two. They walked in hall after hall. After a few hours of walking, they came across a room with a special lock. She pulled the key out of her pocket and unlocked it. It was a computer room. Monitors filled up an entire wall. On every monitor th r e was a different scene. Some were of red alert, but most were of her. The two of them could see her training with the scythe and her being tied to a table and being shocked. There was no audio, but it didn't stop the dred from filling the entire room.

Then alarms rang. Zero seemed to shocked to react immediately, but Reaper wasn't. She dragged him towards the exit, but the door was being sealed there was only time for one to get out.

She pushed Zero out just in time to get sealed in. Zero turned and began banging on the door.

 _Reaper and Zero were in her room. She was laying on her stomach, and he was laying on his back. She was bare and her phoenix tatoo was visible. Zero was shirtless and had defined muscles. His hair was down, which was a rare sight. Both had a soft smile on their faces._

" _You should probably get a haircut." She mumbled. Zero chuckled at that._

" _I thought you liked my hair long…" He smiled back._

" _It drags on the floor when it's wet." She countered._

" _How about I take just a few inches off." He said as he kissed her neck, efficiently taking away her ability to answer._

"Good evening hunters, I believe that you are looking for me…?" A voice rang over the loudspeaker.

"Isoc." Zero growled. Reaper flinched at the sound but Zero didn't see it, as there was a metal wall between the two.

"Yes, but you may also call me the professor." Isoc said.

"Why do you destroy Red Alert?" Reaper asked, banging loudly on the door. She could feel the air getting thinner. She swallowed her panic and focused on a single punch… that barely dented the wall.

Tears didn't fall as she was using up the last bit of air. Instead a calm washed over her. She could hear Zero screaming out to her, but she couldn't respond. Instead she was quietly passed out from lack of oxygen. Her body, despite being tall and packed with muscles, barely made a sound when she hit the floor.

"It seams that you're little consort is slipping away…" Isoc smirked. "It's amazing that no mater how you upgrade it, a human's still a human, and has the same weakness to it.

"N….No!" Zero yelled and took out his sword. The first two swings did nothing, all the while Isoc was taunting Zero. At the third strike, he cut a slice through the metal. He desperately ripped the slice further apart with his bare hands, letting air into the room.

Reaper was curled into a ball, not moving, but she was still alive and that is all that mattered to Zero. He gingerly picked her up bridal style and carried her to the plane that they arrive in.

"X. We got something, but Reaper is hurt." Zero said into the plane's communicator.

"Roger that. We found out something as well. Let's compare notes." X responded through the communicator.

 _Veronica was walking away from the dingy hotel room with a begrudging respect for reploid designers. The reploid was sleeping off his bender and she walked away, her service completed. As she walked, a shadow enveloped her entire neighborhood. It was a maverick aircraft. Veronica smiled and grabbed her scythe handle rubbing her thumb on the activation button. This could be fun._


	9. Chapter 9

Zero walked into base carrying Reaper, who by now had woken up. X and Axl were waiting in the med bay, for when the two arrived.

"What happened…?" X asked concerned.

"There was a trap." Reaper said, as Zero gave her a oxygen tank with a mask. She put the mask on and took deep breaths.

"Isoc was ready for us. He put an airtight seal in an office. God, I'm so stupid" Zero said as he sat down.

"Hey… you got me out…" She said pulling the mask away to speak, her voice was raspy. Then she turned to X. "what have you discovered?"

"I… we...Isoc is connected to the Professor" X stuttered under her gaze.

"He **is** the professor." Zero said. Reaper nodded in agreement.

"But that's not the only thing we learned." Axl said. "We learned something about doctor Olympia."

"...What did you learn?" Zero asked.

"Dragon was his son." Axl said.

"And that Isoc turned son against father." X said.

 _Derek and his father were screaming at each other._

" _What do you mean, you used the final product of some lowly street rat?!" Derek screamed. "I'm your son!"_

" _That lowly street rat was a hero. She didn't deserve to die choking on her own blood!" Dr Olympia yelled back. "The nanites still worked on you." He said calmly._

" _Is that all I get? You took away my humanity!" He said and his eyes blazed orange._

" _You took away your own humanity." The doctor said and backed away._

" _And you know what? I'm going to ruin you little lab rat as well."_

" _No!" Dr. Olympia yelled, but was picked up by his shirt. His body hit the wall, leaving him unconscious._

" _I'll break your new toy." Derek said and crackled._

Axl, Zero and X were waiting outside of a mission base. Reaper was being cared for by nurses, back at base.

"Zero, she'll be fine. She always is." X said, trying to convince everyone including himself.

Zero nodded and and pulled out the key that Reaper took from the last base. It was miniscule in his hands, but he easily got the key to the lock.

"Aw, Veronica would be so disappointed that she missed the show." A voice said with a British accent. Dragon came into view with his eyes turning the color of fire with purple flowing in between the bright colors. His skin was the color of bad sunburn, and his shirt was off, exposing wing tattoos that lay on his back.

"Did you ever ask 'er how I acquired the codename 'Dragon'?" He sneered and Axl took a shot aiming for his throat. The shot hit true, and Dragon coughed up a bit of blood.

Dragon pulled out two guns of his own and shot at Axl. He momentarily forgot about X and Zero, which was a fatal error. X shot the gun out of his hand and Zero closed in and took a swing at him. It sliced his chest open, but the wound opened with an orange light. Zero's eyes widened in shock.

"Not bad, monster. But saving one girl doesn't absolve you of what you did as a maverick. What you did to cause you to fight Veronica the first time." Dragon snarled.

"Don't you dare pretend to care about her." Zero snarled. He took another swing at Dragon.

"I would say the same to you, but is seems that she holds this tin man's heart." Dragon said as dodged. Axl was watching the fight, but X's attention was on a light flash' signaling that someone had teleported near him.

"You're still hurt!" X hissed.

"My knuckles were bruised. That's not life threatening." Reaper said to X. Her hair was brushed and in a French braid. Her eyes were cold and calculating. Her smile was fake and she was tense.

"Zero has this. We have this." X said, his voice muted by the punches that Zero was landing on Dragon.

"I don't care! I want to have a hand in taking down Isoc." She snapped.

This caused Dragon to realize that she was there. Zero noticed that she was there a while ago, but didn't react. Dragon limped over and placed his gun towards her, not noting her grabbing her scythe. Before Zero could react, she sliced him clean through, actually disconnecting his head with his body in a bloody arc.

"I had him." Zero said, slightly annoyed.

"Yes, I know but we need to go to the Professor, now. After then, you two can yell at me all you like." Reaper said and moved towards the open door, where cracking could be heard.


	10. Chapter 10

Zero and Reaper were leading the four of them. A silence filled the room, well hallway. Axl looked at Reaper with eyes scanning for any more injuries, but something was jamming the signal. The halls were gray and plain. The floor was stained with old blood and had the faint smell of bleach. The lights in the hall was a pale white, washing out all youth in the hunters. X looked like he wanted to say something, but he stayed silent.

Eventually the four of them reached a door at the end of the hall.

"Here we go. Behind this door could very well be the professor, or another deathtrap." X said.

"Try to think positively. This whole damn mess will be over soon." Reaper laughed weakly, her smile not quite reaching her eyes.

Zero opened the door, with everyone having their weapons drawn. Reaper walked slowly, her footsteps barely making a noise.

She wasn't prepared for the projectile thrown at her. She sliced the projectile with practiced ease. The two halves skittering along the ground and a spotlight shone on the four hunters.

 _Zero and Reaper was looking at a sunset. Her hair was down and cascading down her back. Her eyes were reflecting the colors of the sunset. They were having a conversation._

" _I'm telling you, I had to deal with all kinds of crazy things when I was a nightwalker." She said, smiling subtly. "One time this guy paid me just to make him a goddamn sandwich."_

" _How much did he pay you?" Zero asked her, his eyebrows raised. He was in civilian clothes, meaning a black t-shirt and dark blue jeans._

" _Too much for a sandwich." She laughed._

" _Please tell me you made it worth his money." Zero said, deadpan._

" _I made an attempt to." She responded._

Zero jumped in front of Reaper when more projectiles came flying towards him.

X tried to contact HQ, but now there was interference preventing the call to be made.

"I would do that X." The voice of an old man crackled.

"Isoc" Reaper sneered as blood dripped from her nose. Zero widened his eyes recoiled away in shock.

"It seems your nanites are failing you…" Isoc smiled and walked out of the shadows. Zer stood in front of Reaper, who was still standing, but was struggling for breath.

 _Zero, Reaper and X were talking about what happened to make her need the nanites._

" _I was caught in an explosion." She said wrapping her arms around herself. "There was a maverick attack and one of the blasts hit a gas tank of a car. It was just bad luck in my case."_

" _What was the physical damage?" X asked as Zero wrapped his arms around her protectively._

" _Both my ribs were ruptured, my spine was broken, and my eyes were blinded." Reaper listed as Zero kissed her forehead._

"I see you remember me." Isoc said as he cocked his head to the side. X noted a button on a remote that Isoc was holding.

X subtly notified Axl of the remote.

"This is a dead man's trigger. If you kill me, I let go of this button, and the bitch dies." Isoc smirked.

Reaper slashed off his arm, making it unable to let go of the button. Her legs were shaking and her eyes fogged up. Axl caught her when she collapsed.

"Not s-so tough now are ya." Reaper laughed. Her eyes turning a dark brown, almost red. Her hair was still the pale white she was known for, but that and her pale skin made the eyes look even more haunting. She coughed up blood and Axl picked her up gently, carrying her close to his chest.

Zero snapped and slashed wildly at the professor with his z-saber. X shot at the professor, but the beam wasn't as strong as X intended them to be. Fully charged, they barely dented the armor that was Isoc casing.

"It appears that the EMP is catching up to the rest of you." Isoc laughed. Zero's Z saber shorted out. Axl shot at Isoc, knocking out his eye. "You have more fight than Red Alert did, Axl. The commander would be proud." Isoc said, laughing and reeling from the pain.

"Don't. Talk. About. Red. Alert. Like. That." Axl said, firing a bullet with every word. Isoc was hit with every one. After that, his armor was cracked, exposing an EMP emitter pulsating like a heart. Zero limped over to the fritzing reploid.

Ripping open more of the chest plate, the EMP emitter was exposed fully. X ran over to defuse it.

"Axl how's Reaper?" Zero asked, looking at the emitter.

"She's in bad shape." Axl said. Reaper was pale and the scar on her stomach opened up, bleeding. She was struggling for breath, causing Ax to put her down and hold her head up. "We're losing her!" Axl yelled suddenly.

"You won't save her…" Isoc grinned. Zero responded by ripping out the emitter, effectively shutting it off. The result was instantaneous. Reaper jerked awake, turning to her side and coughing up the blood. Her skin turned metal and her eyes flashed green.

"Watch me." Zero said looking at the now-deactivated Reploid. Reaper slowly pushed herself up, but had to leaned on Axl for support.

"I don't think he can watch anything, right now." Reaper whispered. Zero looked at her. Her hair was a mess, but color was returning to her face. She had a small smile, but her eyes were clouded in pain. He took her from Axl and helped her walk out.

"...X…..Axl...Zero...Reaper...can anybody read me?" Someone from HQ was shouting over their comms.

X answered for the group. "Yeah, we're all here. There was an EMP that cut off our comms, but we're ok, for the most part, but prepare the med bay."

"What about the professor?" The person from HQ asked.

"Decommissioned." Reaper said with effort.

"Alright. Prepare for transport." The reploid on the other end replied.


	11. Chapter 11

At the med bay, nurses and doctors were treating Reaper so the nanites healing her. Zero was nearby waiting for when Reaper was ok enough for people to see here. X and Axl were reporting to Signas about how the professor was taken care of.

Zero was waiting and when given the ok to,went in to see Reaper. She was putting her hair up. She turned around to speak to him, but Zero was kissing her. She stiffened in surprise, but soon leaned into the kiss. After a while she pulled away.

"I'm assuming that was about the EMP." She noted dryly. He placed a hand gently on her scar.

"I almost lost you." He said, voice wavering. She pulled him close.

"I'm fine" She chuckled and placed a hand on his cheek. "I'm right here."

"I know! I know." He said. She pulled him closer and hugged him. Zero was shaking slightly.

"I'd hate to ruin this touching moment, but you have another visitor. Two of them." A female nurse said, smiling at the two. Reaper blushed and stepped away from Zero, who was blushing as well.

Axl and X walked in and smiled brightly at Reaper. Their armor was off so Axl was wearing a white tank top and jeans. X was wearing a blue tank top and black sweats. Axl hugged Reaper like a child would hug their mother. Axl, being shorter than X and Zero, came up to her shoulders. She chuckled and hugged him back.

"What did Signas say?" She said, looking at X. Axl pulled away.

"He said and I quote: 'Reaper needs a damn drink." X mumbled.

"Not gonna lie, that does sound nice." Reaper chuckled.

"You drink?" Zero asked.

"Sometimes." She shrugged. "But not since I became a hunter."

"So you could keep a clear head during missions?" X asked, curious.

"Not really, no time to drink." She said, matter-of-factly.

"I'm buying you a drink." Zero muttered. She smiled and Axl grumbled about them needing a room.

Things will be just fine.


End file.
